Golden Bands of Love
by ShiverIntheLight
Summary: When Elincia asks Ike out on a simple walk after their return in Crimea it turns out to be much more as Ike contemplates feelings that he had been holding back the whole time and just acquiring as new. Simple oneshot Contains Ike/Elincia.


Golden Bands of Love

**Disclaimer: I own nobody! Intelligent Systems and Nintendo have the pleasure of owning them. Enjoy!**

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Ike woke up in his tent to hear a solo bird twittering in the nearby trees and to see the glorious sun rise from the horizon line. He was always an early riser, always had been and most likely always will be. The blue-haired man got up off the bed and stretched, feeling taut muscles tense before relaxing and loosening. He blinked and sighed before scratching an itch on his face and walking over with light footsteps to his blue-tunic armor and red shirt.

Just as he was ready to put the shirt on over his head he heard a soft sound and his head whirled to see Princess Elincia standing at the opening to his tent, her face an obvious florid color.

"Are you watching me?" Ike queried and she shook her head quickly, further sending the implication to the mercenary that she was indeed embarrassed.

"N-no my lord Ike. I merely wanted to ask something of you and...found that you have just been getting up from bed." Elincia looked at him and this is when Ike realized that she possibly had never heard of men sleeping in their beds half-naked. Somehow the realization of this made him feel chagrin and he said, "I'll be out with you in a moment, Elincia, all right? I'm going to get dressed."

"All right." Princess Elincia inclined her head once and withdrew from his tent's opening.

The way her gaze had settled on his body made Ike think to himself as he felt the cool fibers of his red shirt brush past him as he put on the article of clothing. _She lives in a world entirely the polar opposite of mine. Seeing me look so casual about how I look in the morning to her must shock her._

The blue-haired mercenary leader decided against putting on all the aspects of his armor, keeping his shoulder guards and leather chest protector off him for the time being. After tying his flint-gray sweatband onto his forehead he sauntered out of his tent to see Princess Elincia watching the sun rise.

"It truly is beautiful," she murmured to herself and Ike brought the need to say, "The sunrise?"

"Oh! My lord Ike! I didn't see you there!" The Princess of Crimea appeared to have jumped out of her skin as she heard his voice. She turned around and faced him, slight disappointment in her eyes. Ike tried to suppress an amused smile from growing on his face due to her expression. _Hm...I wonder..._

He came over closer to her. "Now what was it that you had to ask of me?"

"Well...since we are both early risers I was thinking maybe you and I...could go for a walk."

"A walk, Elincia?" Ike had to shake his head once in disbelief. He would have never guessed that someone of royalty would want to take a walk with a commoner. _Then again I don't know what royals really do..._

"Yes...the sunrise is something I have rarely seen since I was a small girl...I miss being in the Royal Villa...no worries about being an heir to a throne, war, or death. I would always love to watch the sunrise but no one would be up to view it alongside me. I'd always wish that one day I'd find that one person I could watch the dawn begin with and that maybe one day, me and that person could go for a walk," she explained and then Ike felt a smile breach the usual thin line for a mouth.

"So...why choose me?" he queried.

"You have told me that you were an early riser, upon my asking. And I decided that I should break the question to you one day when we weren't in the middle of a battlefield."

"Well...sure, Elincia. I'd like to go for a walk with you." Ike nodded and held out a hand, inviting the princess to take it. She blushed somewhat before placing her hand into his and walking beside him, the grassy fronds brushing like lips against their clothes with soft sounds.

"I will admit it...this is the first time I have ever gone on a walk...with anyone for that matter," Elincia said as they left the campsite. Ike looked down at her and replied, "Really?"

"You are my first," the princess ventured and then she smiled as she looked back up at him. "Thank you for this, my lord."

"No problem. As long as you are happy." He reciprocated the smile before the commoner and the princess walked on, a large meadow opening up in their vision after a few minutes.

"Wow!" Elincia took her hand out of Ike's and hurried over to a small white daisy that was nestled in the tall grass, its yellow center standing out from all the green around it. Ike let an amused smile drift onto his face as he followed after the ecstatic princess. _She is acting as though she is a child again from long years past, _he thought and this made his smile linger as the princess broke into his thoughts, saying, "What a beautiful flower; I have always loved flowers since I was small." She stroked the daisy's petals tenderly, crouching down, before standing back up, looking embarrassed.

"Princess, it's perfectly fine. Don't worry about me judging you on what you do around me. I would never do that to you. We are back in Crimea again after a long year. I want you to enjoy it before we face Ashnard." _and you become the queen of a nation...separating from me. _Ike's unspoken words hung in the air and Elincia looked subdued.

"I know...it's been a long time since we were here...I miss it...truly I do." Princess Elincia looked at him before facing the sunrise again. "Sometimes...if I think long enough then everything but the current moment fades away and I feel happy."

"But are you happy now, Elincia?" Ike queried, serious. Elincia turned to him and nodded.

"Yes, my lord Ike. I am happy because we could do this together. I was beginning to worry that possibly you would reject my offer for this walk while you were coming over to me after dressing."

"I wouldn't ever reject you Elincia." He walked over to stand next to her, watching the sunrise.

"Why not?"

Her soft inquiring question caught him off guard. _Come to think of it...that is a question I should be wondering as well. Why is it impossible for me to tell her no? _

"I don't know...I guess maybe the reason is because you hired me. I can't refuse any request from you, no matter what it is." Ike knew it sounded generic because he couldn't think of a good reason.

"No...it doesn't have anything to do with my hiring you. It has to do with you, my lord. You're a kind, caring, and thoughtful person." Elincia looked into his eyes and smiled. Ike felt himself get taken aback. _Am I really all of those things?_

"I can prove it too." Her smile didn't fade. "If you weren't so caring, then you would have rejected me before I even said anything this morning. If you weren't so thoughtful then you would have scoffed at my rant on not seeing the sunrise in a while. And if you weren't kind...then we would have never met, my lord. You are a sweet man."

"Elincia..." Ike trailed off not knowing what to say. What she had said made his heart feel warm, almost to melting point. No one had ever labeled him as such words. Mist didn't count because she was his sister and supporting him was her first priority, besides making dinner.

Elincia was the first woman Ike had ever met outside his mercenary group and somehow...he had the sudden feeling that he didn't want to let her go. Even more sudden still was the fact that now he was just realizing that he may even love the soft spoken princess.

Love was always weird according to Ike's observation. If he thought hard enough and racked his brain for a memory he would catch an image of his mother and father together embracing or kissing, he knew not, but then it would disappear again. Strangely the thought of being in love felt natural to Ike, despite his never experiencing it. _Unless...I am falling in love at the moment and aren't realizing it._

"My lord? You look distant. Are you...all right?" Elincia's worried tone brought him back to the present and Ike blinked, refocusing his eyes on her. "Um, Yes, I'm fine...I was just thinking."

"Oh."

"By the way Elincia."

"Mm?"

"I'm sorry about before with me being half-naked and you seeing that. I know that you must have been uncomfortable..." "It's perfectly fine, lord Ike. Don't worry about me." The princess of Crimea waved away his statement and Ike sheepishly grinned, making her giggle.

"You know...I have noticed something just now." Elincia's smile came back again and Ike looked at her. "You always seem to smile more in my presence."

"I do?" Ike queried and she giggled.

"Yes! You are right now, my lord."

"You're right. I am," the blue-haired mercenary replied, just now noting the smile on his face, feeling it widen despite himself, and the Crimean princess giggled again.

Two birds chirped together in neighboring trees as the sun began to rise higher and Ike knew that their time together was growing short before they would have to be serious again. However...Ike didn't want this to end. He found he rather liked talking to Princess Elincia alone, where no worries bothered them. He liked being alone with her. This made a realization shudder go through him. _Do I care for Elincia? And does she care for me back in the same light?_

"You look troubled, my lord. What's wrong?" Elincia asked and Ike took her hand into his own, holding it, startling her for a second.

"I...want this to last, between us, princess. I am just now figuring it it all out that...I have developed feelings for you. And even as they startle me...I know they are true." Now it was Ike's turn to feel embarrassed and a soft expression came into the princess's face. Then a blush came onto Elincia's face as she said, "My lord...I too have something to confess. The reason why I asked only you to this walk is because I knew you would listen to me, when the others would just fret for my safety if I even set one foot outside the camp. I am forever grateful to you...and every word I say now is the truth.

"You helped me back since the first day we met and I can never forget the look in your eyes as you accepted my proposal to be hired by me. Overtime you and your mercenaries have become my family and that I can never let go. I want this moment between us to last as well."

Then Ike looked into her eyes before leaning in to kiss her lips softly, unsure of whether she would accept this bold move. Her breathing was augmented as he drew back and she leaned to kiss him this time, her arms throwing themselves around his neck.

Ike felt deliriously happy as their kiss deepened, how every aspect of their bodies touching made him react mentally. He was aware of how abrupt their feelings had came on, but he accepted it all the same, because he liked those feelings of love. His arms wrapped around her waist, drawing her closer to his body, earning a shiver from the princess of Crimea.

Once they drew back, Elincia looked into his eyes and whispered, "I have imagined the day when our lips would touch like that for a while now."

"Oh Elincia..." Ike trailed off as he heard the horn act as the wake up call from the campsite. The blue-haired man felt a sudden annoyance set in as he knew that their time was up on being alone together here. He didn't want to leave this peaceful and affectionate scene between him and Elincia.

"Now we must head back to the camp before they start to wonder where we are," Ike said, a tone on longing in his voice as the horn blew out again.

"Let's just stay here for a minute more, my lord," Elincia whispered and touched her lips to his again. The playful wind came and made the long green fronds of grass dance and the sun rose ever higher in a blue-tinted sky, but both things were ignored as the couple continued to touch and establish long quelled feelings for each other, slowing time only for themselves.

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**A/N: Did this seem rushed at all in any spots? Did the romance? Let me know with a review! :D Thanks for reading one of my many Ike/Elincia oneshots. Have a wonderful day. :)**


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